Elinor Donahue Movies
Elinor Donahue's mother, a theatrical costumer, moonlighted as a department store saleswoman in order to pay for her daughter's dancing lessons. Appearing in dancing-chorus film roles from the age of five, Donahue was at one point a ballet-school classmate of future Fred Astaire partner Barrie Chase. Striking out on her own at 12, Donahue attained work as a Las Vegas showgirl at 14; the fact that she was underage was discreetly covered by her agent and her co-workers, who took a paternal interest in the impressionable young dancer's career. Breaking her ankle at 16, Donahue decided to forego dancing in favor of acting; she was almost immediately cast in the role of sensitive teenager Betty Anderson in the long-running (1954-60) sitcom Father Knows Best. It was the first of many TV stints for Donahue; over the next three decades she would appear as a regular on such series as The Andy Griffith Show, Many Happy Returns, The Odd Couple, Mulligan's Stew, Please Stand By and Doctor's Private Lives. She became a special favorite of writer/director Savage Steve Holland, who cast Donahue as the ditsy mother of a teen-aged secret agent on the 1987 Fox network series The New Adventures of Beans Baxter, and as the voice of a suburban mom who spends her waking hours trying to learn an indecipherable foreign language on Holland's cartoon series Eek! The Cat. This fey, eccentric quality was carried over into Donahue's performance as the eternally bathrobe-clad wife of Bob Elliot and mother of 30-year-old paperboy Chris Elliot on the 1990 Fox sitcom Get a Life. Donahue's film appearances have been less frequent; when she showed up in a cameo as a department store clerk in Gary Marshall's Pretty Women (1987), there was an audible appreciative sigh of recognition from movie audiences everywhere. Elinor Donahue was the wife of Columbia TV executive Harry Ackerman from 1961 to Ackerman's death in 1991. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide- 1991
Starland Vocal Band's "Afternoon Delight" is the unofficial theme song of this episode, as little Chris Peterson (Chris Elliott) shows cynical show biz celebrity Sandy Connors (Martin Mull) "a world of life, hope, and laughter." The episode has a special resonance for fans because Sandy bears an uncanny resemblance to one David Letterman, Elliott's former employer. Like Letterman, Sandy is an acerbic, cigar-chomping late night talk show host who seems uncomfortable in his own skin. Chris sends 3,000 entries in to "Sandy's Laugh and Song Jackpot," and wins a weekend with the curmudgeonly star. Sandy, arriving at the Peterson home, immediately tries to get out of his obligation, proposing he stay at the Marriott and meet Chris for breakfast the next day. Chris knows the contest rules, and warns Sandy, "If you're going to challenge me, I'll run right over to the mall and get myself a lawyer." He sums up the situation thusly: "It's like a little game of chess, isn't it, Sandy? The only problem is, I own Boardwalk, and you keep landing on it." The miserable Sandy can't even get out of sharing Chris' bed, as Chris tells him, "Yeah, that's a good idea -- sleep on the sofa. But I warn you, it's loaded with chiggers." After a frightening night, Sandy offers Chris money to let him leave, but instead, Chris takes him on a life-affirming journey around town, to the strains of the aforementioned song. He's ecstatic to have won Sandy over, until the celeb decides to give up show biz, with its "grueling...five hours of work every week," and "those horrible synthetic hairpieces," and move in with Chris and his parents. ~ Josh Ralske, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Chris Elliott, Bob Elliott, (more)
- 1991
It's time for the Peterson family reunion, and Fred (Bob Elliott) is stuck hosting the event this year. Fred and Gladys (Elinor Donahue) don't want to be there because Fred's relatives are mostly obnoxious buffoons like Uncle Sid (Bill Cort), who shows up with a bullhorn every year. Chris dreads the event even more than his parents, because he'll have to listen to all the accolades of his more successful cousin, Donald (former child star Jackie Earle Haley of The Bad News Bears and Breaking Away) who owns a thriving melon stand and a late model used car. Chris is distraught about Donald's impending arrival. He flashes back to the 1968 Peterson reunion, when Fred gave Donald a trophy and savings bond for being "the Peterson with the most wit, charisma, and intelligence." Fred also presented Chris with a stick he found lying on the ground, and said of his own son, "He'll make a great rodeo clown someday." When Donald finally arrives, he and Chris engage in some verbal sparring, before Donald silences Chris by whipping out his bankbook, showing a 900 dollar balance. Chris flies into a jealous rage and decides to vandalize Donald's car. After hiding a few tuna balls in the glove compartment, Chris has a temper tantrum, and accidentally uncovers an incriminating document that he thinks will show the Peterson clan that their "precious little Donald" is not so impressive after all. ~ Josh Ralske, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Chris Elliott, Bob Elliott, (more)
- 1992
Chris (Chris Elliott) and Gus (Brian Doyle-Murray) ignore warnings about toxic waste in their neighborhood and develop super powers. The two notice a few minor physical deformities (losing teeth, oversized pinky finger) before a government official (Mitch Pileggi, who would later play FBI deputy director Skinner on The X-Files) comes over to warn them that the neighborhood has become "a death zone" and is being evacuated. "I can't die yet!" Chris frets, "My only goal in life is to be buried in a piano crate...but I foolishly put off getting really fat thinking I would live forever." Gus tells him they're not leaving, reassuring Chris that, "the theory that toxic waste can hurt you is a lotta bunk." As the two hole up in Gus' living room with an arsenal of weapons, they begin to notice a few changes. Gus gets webbed fingers, and Chris grows a second mouth on the side of his body. Thinking they're dying, the two eventually collapse into toxic comas. Miraculously, they wake up, and Chris and Gus quickly notice that Chris has gained the ability to speak coherently, and he can actually follow a conversation. "The trick is not to hum cartoon theme songs in your head while other people are talking," he reasons. Not only that, Chris suddenly knows how to spell, even the word that previously gave him the most trouble -- "pants." "Everything seems so clear to me now," Chris enthuses, "There's no silent 'K'." Meanwhile, Gus finds himself adept at the Japanese paper-folding art of origami. They decide to put Chris' newfound powers to use by winning every spelling bee on the planet. They're unstoppable, but Chris grows weary of life on the road and decides to retire. Gus convinces him to enter one more contest -- the prestigious World Spelling Bee. ~ Josh Ralske, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Chris Elliott, Bob Elliott, (more)
- 1992
"Clip Show" opens with Chris (Chris Elliott) sitting on an airplane, in mid-flight, excited about his journey to Iraq, which his father has convinced him is "the Disneyland of the Middle East." Chris gets up to use the men's room. "Too many free Sprites," he explains. Thinking it's the bathroom door, he inadvertently opens the exit to the plane, and begins a long plummet to his probable death. He quickly grows tired of screaming -- he'd hate to die with a sore throat -- and his life begins to flash before his eyes. "For some reason," he says, "I can only remember things that happened about a year and a half ago." His memories take the form of clips from Get a Life's first two (well, as it turned out, only two) seasons. "Sometimes the production values of my life simply amaze me," Chris exalts after a clip of "Zoo Animals on Wheels." The highlight of this wonderful trip down short-term memory lane is a long montage of the times Chris was punched, slapped, beaten, bludgeoned, strangled, stabbed, shot, run over, beheaded, and crushed by a boulder. The last thing Chris remembers is a delightful clip of him inadvertently walking out of the airplane. "How did I get out of that one?" he wonders. The show has added poignancy in hindsight, with the knowledge that it was the last original episode of the series ever to air. ~ Josh Ralske, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Chris Elliott, Bob Elliott, (more)
- 1990
Chris (Chris Elliott) is down at the coffee shop, regaling his fellow newsboys with tales of his sexual conquests, when the subject of the Newspaper Boy Semi-Annual Father and Son Day comes up. Chris reminisces about he and his dad, Fred (Bob Elliott), competing in the event when he was a boy, but he says it would be unfair to the younger newsboys to enter it now, "kinda like Meryl Streep showing up at Star Search." When young Otto (David Tom) calls Chris' courage into question, Chris claims he just has better things to do -- "adult things, like playing with matches, and eating candy from strangers. That's right -- strangers -- who, by the way, have the best candy, but I guess you wouldn't know that, would you?" Chris eventually caves in, but then he has to convince Fred to enter the competition with him, despite their history of being humiliated, and his advanced age. Gladys (Elinor Donahue), Chris' mom, thinks it's a grand idea. Fred is dead set against it, but Chris brings out the heavy ammo -- "the face." After three days of being subjected to Chris' childish pouting, Fred relents and the two start training. They practice sack racing and egg racing, but when the day of the event arrives, it turns out to be a brutal, American Gladiators-style battle, emceed by James Hampton (who played Dobbs on F-Troop) as Fletcher. Otto and his dad, the returning champs, insult Chris and Fred throughout the events, and Chris discovers a way to make crashing to the ground again and again less painful. "Just let your face catch the brunt of it," he tells Fred, "It's nature's shock absorber." ~ Josh Ralske, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Chris Elliott, Bob Elliott, (more)
- 1990
When Chris Peterson (Chris Elliott) sees the new waitress at the diner, he's instantly smitten. Jane (Anastasia Barzee, who also played reporter May Evans in season two's "The Big City") resists the thirtysomething paperboy at first. Jane relents, but when Chris tells her "You are gonna look mighty fine on the handlebars of my bike," she balks again, so he pretends he has a driver's license. He asks his friend, Larry (Sam Robards), to teach him to drive, but he quickly grows bored with Larry's obsessive safety tips. "You don't have to teach me how to drive," Chris tells him, "I've been watching people drive for years -- Mannix, Barnaby Jones, The Dukes of Hazzard." So Chris rushes out to take his road test. After experiencing Chris' own brand of defensive driving ("Old ladies and fire trucks -- they think they own the road!"), the state trooper flunks him. Despite his failure, Chris decides to "borrow" his parents' car and take Jane out for a drive. Things take a nutty turn when Chris' dad, Fred (Bob Elliott) mistakenly reports the car stolen, and Chris' big date is enlivened by a thrilling high-speed police chase. ~ Josh Ralske, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Chris Elliott, Bob Elliott, (more)
- 1992
The trouble all starts when Chris (Chris Elliott) is standing in the street in front of his house and gets hit by a car. When Tricia, the beautiful driver (Emma Samms of General Hospital) gets out to see if he's okay, Chris instantly falls in love. "You are the most beautiful woman I have ever seen," he tells her, "with the possible exception of Charles Durning." It turns out that Tricia is a brilliant physician and scientist, and when Chris shows up at her job and professes his love she spurns him. At first he accepts this. "There are plenty of other fish out there in the sea of recklessly driving cars," he whines, but Chris can't seem to get her out of his head. His landlord Gus (Brian Doyle Murray) scoffs when Chris thinks of moving on and encourages Chris to try harder to impress Tricia with his devotion. "Don't just call her," he suggests, "Call her every 15 minutes. Write her endless rambling deranged letters in your own blood." Soon Chris is stalking Tricia like there's no tomorrow. After an unsuccessful attempt to woo her by gluing his hand to her shoe ("With this glue, I thee wed."), he visits the local drugstore, where Evelyn (Amy Yasbeck), the cashier, is immediately smitten with him. Before long, Chris has his hands full trying to stalk Tricia while Evelyn is stalking him -- and Evelyn is not going to take no for an answer. ~ Josh Ralske, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Chris Elliott, Bob Elliott, (more)
- 1991
Chris (Chris Elliott) gets a job as a health inspector and ends up testifying before a senate subcommittee in this shocking episode. Chris is sitting down to a nice healthy breakfast with Gus (Brian Doyle-Murray) when a dead rat plops down out of the milk carton and into his cereal bowl. Chris decides right then and there that he wants to be a food inspector. Gus makes some phone calls on Chris' behalf, and soon thereafter, Chris shows up for his on-the-job training. The first restaurant kitchen he inspects is filthy. Among other violations, there's a litter of puppies in an open sack of flour and a bug zapper positioned directly over a pot of soup. Chris is shocked when his trainer, Rob (Thom Sharp), takes a stack of money from the restaurant owner and gives the place a clean bill of health. "I simply cannot condone a system that allows insects to go careening through our small intestine as though it were a really cool waterslide," Chris tells him indignantly. But he changes his tune when Rob hands him a five-dollar bill. When a secretive government agent shows up in Chris' garage, asking him to testify, Chris tells him, "So you want me to sing, huh? Like a little rat bastard canary, huh? Chewing on its own cuttlebone in a cage made by your own gilded saliva!" "Peterson, pretending to be a yammering half-wit isn't going to help you in prison," the agent responds. Chris still isn't ready to give up his "perks," until his parents find a sweat sock on top of a delivered pizza. "My dear parents could have choked a woolly death on this evil stink-hose," he laments. But things take an ugly turn when Rob shows up at the senate hearing, holding Gus at gunpoint. ~ Josh Ralske, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Chris Elliott, Bob Elliott, (more)
- 1991
The trouble begins when Chris (Chris Elliott) tries to cook something in the Potter kitchen, and ends up setting the place on fire. Assessing the damage, Chris tries to reassure Sharon (Robin Riker), telling her, "It's not burned, Sharon -- it's blackened." Chris then helpfully informs the insurance agent that he always disables the fire alarm before he does any cooking, thus voiding the Potters' insurance policy. He offers to give them a little bit out of his salary each month to pay them back, optimistically telling Sharon and Larry (Sam Robards), "We should be even by the year 2011. Hey, maybe even 2010 if I go back to domestic cheese." Sharon is ready to murder Chris, but Chris convinces her that he can work off his debt. Ignoring Larry's dire warnings, he agrees to be her personal servant. Larry goes away on business for a couple of days, and by the time he gets back, Sharon has completely broken Chris' will. Larry is horrified, and misses the "really fun, terrific idiot" Chris used to be, so he kidnaps Chris and, in a scene reminiscent of Clockwork Orange, "deprograms" him. ~ Josh Ralske, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Chris Elliott, Bob Elliott, (more)
- 1991
Funnyman Bob Odenkirk (later to star on HBO's Mr. Show) wrote this episode of Get a Life, in which Larry (Sam Robards) runs away from home. The trouble begins when Chris visits the Potter home, where Larry is doing household chores while his wife, Sharon (Robin Riker), supervises. Chris mocks Larry's servility, and brags about his own carefree life living in a garage. "I'm all alone, carefree, happy," he tells Larry, "plus I finally have a place to practice my nude robot dancing." Larry has an epiphany and runs off, leaving a goodbye note. Chris is concerned that Larry may have been kidnapped by "some South American goon squad," and suggests a visit to the American embassy. His mother (Elinor Donahue) has to point out, "This is America. We don't have American embassies here." A disappointed Chris takes matters into his own hands, going on an exhaustive search which mostly involves standing in the middle of the street and calling Larry's name. Eventually, Gus (Brian Doyle-Murray) agrees to help Chris, first taking him to the morgue, where Chris mistakes a slab of barbecued ribs for the remains of his friend. Gus then tries grabbing a random passerby (played by the show's director, David Mirkin) and pumping him for info. That doesn't work either, and eventually Chris gives up, and goes out to look for a new best friend. His efforts to find someone to play jacks with at the local biker bar end in disaster, as he later tells Gus: "I think those jacks are giving me indigestion." Gus asks, "They made you eat jacks?" to which Chris responds, "No...but they're in me." ~ Josh Ralske, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Chris Elliott, Bob Elliott, (more)
- 1991
When lifelong enemies Chris (Chris Elliott) and Sharon (Robin Riker) get trapped in a meat locker together, unlikely romance blooms, thanks to the fertilizer of hypothermic delirium. The trouble starts when Chris barges in on Sharon's date with the wealthy Dr. Glen Morris (Drew Pillsbury). Since Sharon's husband Larry has abandoned her, Chris comes over to the Potter home to borrow some of Larry's underpants. Before she can throw him out, Chris scares the new boyfriend off by telling him that Sharon murdered Larry. After beating Chris bloody, Sharon decides she'll spare his life if he'll agree to pose as Glen for her dinner party that night, so she can impress her old sorority sisters. Later, when one of the guests asks "Glen" about his work as a micro neurosurgeon, Chris gets defensive. After declaring himself the "King Hot Pants" of brain doctors, Chris starts talking about his relationship with Sharon. "I have never been more content in my life," he brags to the assembled guests, "and you're talking to a guy who's slept with every high-priced hooker in the state!" When Sharon takes him aside -- into the walk-in meat locker she has in her living room -- to chastise him, she slams the door so hard it gets stuck. Sharon's guests, thinking they've gone into the meat locker to have sex, leave in a huff. It seems that their doom is sealed, and the two embrace in order to share their body heat. Before they die, Sharon tells Chris, "there's something that I want to get off my chest." "You know, I pray you are talking about your bra," Chris responds, "Otherwise, you are the worst kind of tease." ~ Josh Ralske, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Chris Elliott, Bob Elliott, (more)
- 1991
An adventure on the brink of death brings Chris (Chris Elliott) and his dad, Fred (Bob Elliott), closer together in the memorable Get a Life episode, "Neptune 2000." The show begins in 1971, when Young Chris (Brandon Crane) decides to take a newspaper job to pay for the $19.95 two-man submarine he wants to order from the back of a comic book. When the submarine finally arrives 20 years later, Chris complains, "You'd think the postal service would have improved after we sold it to the Japanese," adding for good measure, "Lousy krauts." His mom, Gladys (Elinor Donahue), points out that the ad says delivery will take four to 600 weeks. At first, Chris can't convince Fred to help him assemble the sub. "There's only so many hours in the day," Fred explains, "I can't spend time with you and drink coffee." Chris tries to build it on his own, naming his sub, "Tony," after Tony the Tiger, he explains, "because there's no sub-stitute for breakfast." When Chris' dry run results in dangerous sparks and flame, Fred relents and helps him rebuild "Tony." Chris then convinces his dad to join him, testing the sub in his bathtub, which he has sealed off for the occasion. To Fred's horror, he and Chris end up trapped in the sub, with only 20 minutes worth of air. Even worse, he has to endure Chris' imitations of Jacques Cousteau and Quinn, the Robert Shaw character from Jaws. With their doom all but sealed, Chris asks Fred to finally open up to him. Fred responds, "The only thing I can think about is that this is going to be the most embarrassing obituary ever to hit the papers." ~ Josh Ralske, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Chris Elliott, Bob Elliott, (more)
- 1990
After 18 years as a paperboy, Chris (Chris Elliott) faces his own obsolescence in this episode. Called in for a meeting with his boss, Chris thinks he's getting a promotion, but explains to his parents that he won't take a desk job. He tells them he's going to demand "a padded seat for my bike, a thermos, and a mistress on 24-hour call, seven days a week." But he has a rude awakening when he gets to his boss' office. Mr. Martin (Graham Jarvis) isn't promoting Chris -- he's replacing him and all the other paperboys with a massive robotic newspaper delivery vehicle, the Paperboy 2000. Chris organizes a town meeting to save his job, but when the people get a look at the fancy high-tech robot, they're instantly won over. Ben Spangler (Hal Landon Jr.) excitedly comments that having the new robot deliver his paper will be "just like living in outer space." Chris quickly gives up the idea of finding another job and sinks into depression. Eventually, he decides to challenge Paperboy 2000 to a contest and show everyone he's better than the robot. He prepares for the "Man vs. Machine" showdown by duct taping athletic pads and tin foil to himself, and putting on eye black. The whole town turns out to watch the contest. His friend Larry (Sam Robards) tells him, "No matter what happens today, they can't take away your dignity. Because you've pretty much already done that with that outfit." This episode features John Waters regular Mink Stole in a small role. ~ Josh Ralske, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Chris Elliott, Bob Elliott, (more)
- 1990
This slightly less than brilliant episode of the generally brilliant TV series begins when Chris (Chris Elliott) discovers that the local playground, site of his bizarre precious childhood memories (heard in audio flashback), has been condemned, and is to be replaced by a parking lot. Aghast at what he calls "this stinking nihilistic world," Chris sets out to save the playground. He tries to raise money by selling seafood drink and his old sneakers, by performing on the street (a rollerblading mime puppet show that is not to be missed), and by becoming a gigolo, all to no avail. Even his own parents, Fred (Bob Elliott) and Gladys (Elinor Donahue), are more interested in the upcoming Jack Jones concert than in helping their son. Chris eventually hits on the idea of breaking the world record for having junk stacked on him. "Chris Peterson's Save the Park Stack-On" is underway! With the help of his friend, Larry (Sam Robards), he charges his neighbors to stack items on top of him. His neighbors are eager to squash Chris, and continue to stack junk on him, even when it seems it may cost him his life. When Mr. Pipp (Clive Revill), an official from the Big Book of Records, shows up to validate Chris' feat, everyone is in for an unpleasant surprise. But their disappointment turns to enchantment when Jack Jones himself makes an appearance, does a terrific number atop Chris' "pile of death" and helps save the playground. ~ Josh Ralske, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Chris Elliott, Bob Elliott, (more)
- 1991
Brilliant screenwriter Charlie Kaufman, who also wrote the time-travel episode, "1977 2000," and went on to write Being John Malkovich, wrote this episode, in which Chris (Chris Elliott) gets a visit from his prison pen pal, Irma (Nora Dunn), that ends in a terrifying stand-off with the cops. Chris excitedly opens the mail one day, only to find that the "Hat of the Month" club has sent him his eighth derby in a row. "I specifically requested the alternate this month," Chris gripes, "the charming yet provincial Peruvian gaucho hat." His hat worries are quickly forgotten when he learns that Irma is getting out of jail and plans to visit him. A frightened Chris does his best to prepare to scare the ex-con off, putting a big cardboard box in his garage with "A tiger is in here" painted on the side, and putting a sheet over his head and pretending to be a ghost. But when the butch Irma shows up, he is instantly smitten. "Oh, fair lady," he tells her, "you, sir, are the most exquisite creature my puny mortal eyes have ever beheld." "Yeah, well, you're kinda gross," she replies, "I can see why you wear a sheet." Irma agrees to stay with Chris, but warns him, "If you so much as lay a finger on me, I'll rip your throat out so fast it'll be screaming 'uncle' in my fist." Chris points out that she sounds like every other girl he dates. Chris is making plans to marry Irma ("We're gonna wanna put the rabbi on the revolving platform right about here"), but Irma's more interested in running guns and drugs, as well as a counterfeit operation right out of Chris's garage. Chris doesn't suspect a thing, even after the police show up, and Irma takes him hostage. ~ Josh Ralske, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Chris Elliott, Bob Elliott, (more)
- 1991
The trouble starts when Chris (Chris Elliott) and his best friend, Larry (Sam Robards), are going through a box of memorabilia in the attic, because Larry has bet Chris that it was the Beatles, and not Peter & Gordon, that recorded "Hey Jude." Chris comes across a photo of himself as an infant, in the arms of an Amish couple. Along with the photo is a receipt, which Chris thinks is for a 10,000-dollar payment for a baby boy named Emmett. Chris immediately leaps to the conclusion that his parents, Fred (Bob Elliott) and Gladys (Elinor Donahue), bought him from the Amish couple. He confronts his confused parents about it, and when Fred points out their physical resemblance, Chris whines, "It's obvious that you've had extensive plastic surgery to make yourself look more like me." Chris, now calling himself "Emmett," then leaves to find his "real" parents. He takes a circuitous route to Pennsylvania Dutch Country, where he barges in on the confused Amish couple, Jedidiah (Steven Gilborn) and Marta (Elsa Raven), and tells them he's moving back "home." Frightened, they try to humor Chris, letting him stay, and Chris tries to adjust to their old-fashioned ways. When Fred and Gladys show up the next day, anxious to clear up the confusion, Chris chides them. "We are simple people, and we shun the ways of your people, with your pre-sweetened cereals, and your silent dog whistles," he tells Fred. ~ Josh Ralske, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Chris Elliott, Bob Elliott, (more)
- 1992
In what is perhaps the most-beloved Get a Life episode ever aired, and a heartfelt homage to Steven Spielberg's E.T., Chris (Chris Elliott) finds and befriends a magical, violent, ugly, smelly, puking being from outer space (played by Arturo Gil and voiced by Frank Welker). The joyfulness starts when Chris hears a loud crash outside, which he at first mistakes for "those darn neighbor kids with their Neil Sedaka records," but which he soon realizes was the crash landing of a squat, bulbous monster from outer space. The creature immediately attacks Chris and beats him up. Interpreting this hostility as "a highly advanced superbeing's greeting that our puny minds can't comprehend," Chris presents the thing with a telephone, inviting him to "phone home," and it promptly begins beating him with the receiver. Chris' delight turns to rapture when the creature begins projectile vomiting all over him. Chris excitedly introduces the creature to Gus (Brian Doyle-Murray) as "SPEWEY," which he says is an acronym for "Special Person...Entering the World...Egg Yolks." SPEWEY beats Gus and pukes all over his house. Nefarious G-Men, having heard about the UFO, soon show up at the house to investigate. Chris hides SPEWEY, while Gus, thinking of selling SPEWEY to the circus, or to Michael Jackson for his zoo, doesn't tell the G-Men. Disappointed to learn that the circus already has an alien ("it can juggle and get shot out of a cannon") Gus later changes his mind. Chris begs him not to turn SPEWEY in. "The government is such a cold, unfeeling bureaucracy. They might tease SPEWEY about the size of his bottom. Or worse, make him work in the post office." ~ Josh Ralske, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Chris Elliott, Bob Elliott, (more)
- 1990
Chris Peterson (Chris Elliott) undergoes the sort of bizarre, surrealistic life experiences that are all too typical for 30-year-old paperboys who still live above their parents' garage as Get a Life enters its first season. In the series opener, Chris persuades his best friend Larry Potter (Sam Robards) to join him for the world premiere of the treacherous Hell Loop 2000 roller coaster (the first of the series' many whimsical invocations of the year 2000) -- only to become stuck upside-down when the coaster stalls. In later adventures, Chris becomes a male model, talks his phlegmatic father Fred (played by Chris Elliott's real-life father, Bob Elliott) into participating in the newspaper boys' annual picnic, endeavors to set a rather pointless world record, is replaced on the job by a paper-delivering robot, applies for his first-ever driver's license in order to impress a pretty waitress, and wins a weekend with his favorite talk show host (played by Fred Willard), who proves to be an even bigger waste of humanity than Chris! Also: Chris has a brief romantic fling with the sister of Larry's wife Sharon (Robin Riker), much to Sharon's dismay (to say she doesn't like Chris is like saying a rattlesnake doesn't like a mongoose); he experiences a full married life within a single day with his new-found "soulmate"; he stars in the very off-Broadway musical "Zoo Animals on Wheels," he briefly switches bodies with Larry after falling victim to an ancient curse; and, after 20 years, he finally receives the toy submarine kit which he'd paid for by becoming a paperboy in the first place. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Chris Elliott, Bob Elliott, (more)
- 1991
Season two of the blithely surrealistic Fox sitcom Get a Life begins as over-aged paperboy Chris Peterson (Chris Elliott) celebrates his 31st birthday by moving out of the apartment over his parents' garage -- and moving into the apartment over the garage of his grumpy neighbor, police officer Gus Borden (Brian Doyle-Murray). The defection of series regular Sam Robards is amusingly addressed in the next episode, wherein Robards' character, Chris' best friend Larry Potter, runs out on his wife, forcing Chris to launch a search...for a new best friend. As for Larry's wife Sharon (Robin Riker), her hatred of Chris reaches epic proportions in the episode which finds them both trapped in a meat locker. In other episodes, Chris becomes a food inspector after finding a dead rat in a milk carton, belatedly has his tonsils removed, is held hostage by his prison inmate pen pal (A crisis that does not seem to faze Chris' parents -- played by Bob Elliott and Elinor Donahue -- in the least!), becomes a male escort to meet rich and sexy young girls (only to end up with a poor and elderly old bag), "stalks" an attractive doctor (Emma Samms) while simultaneously being stalked by a love-starved drugstore clerk (Amy Yasbeck), becomes a genius when exposed to toxic waste, misguidedly tries to adopt an obnoxious space alien named Spewey, and screws up the time-space continuum while attempting to save Gus' job. Just the sort of mishaps that could happen to anyone, right? ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Chris Elliott, Bob Elliott, (more)
- 1990
All the craziness of Get a Life started with this episode: "Terror on the Hell Loop 2000." Chris Peterson (Chris Elliott) is introduced to us as a 30-year-old man, lying in bed, in the room above his parents' garage, awakening from a nightmare about an unpleasant experience on The $20,000 Pyramid. After his morning regimen (one push-up and a quick kiss for his Daryl Hannah poster), he heads down to the house, where he greets Fred (Bob Elliott) and Gladys (Elinor Donahue), who are concerned that, although he's moved from the house to the room above the garage, Chris may be "in a rut." After dismissing their concerns, he's off to his paper route. The plot kicks into gear when he visits his friend, Larry Potter (Sam Robards), and tries to convince him to skip work and accompany him to the amusement park. During this scene, Larry's wife, Sharon (Robin Riker), Chris' nemesis, sums up Chris' life succinctly. "You're 30 years old. You still live with your parents," she reminds him, "You're losing your hair, and you're stupid." Chris pushes aside her jabs, though, and convinces Larry to ditch work to ride the Hell Loop 2000 roller coaster. Their fun-filled day reaches a terrifying climax when their car gets stuck at the top of the loop, and they are forced to hang upside down, their lives in peril, for hours. Chris tries to keep Larry's spirits up by singing a version of "We Didn't Start the Fire" featuring the lyrics, "Gorbachev comes to town/Chris and Larry upside down." It doesn't work. This episode features guest appearances by comedienne Julie Brown (Earth Girls Are Easy), and renowned character actor Tracy Walter. Graham Jarvis, who plays Chris' boss in the "Paperboy 2000" episode, plays Larry's boss in this one. ~ Josh Ralske, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Chris Elliott, Bob Elliott, (more)
- 1991
In this charming homage to Meet John Doe, Chris (Chris Elliott) sleepwalks into his parents' kitchen to tell them he's saved up enough money for his trip to The Big City. When they warn him about how dangerous the city is, he chides them. "You've kept me hidden away for too long, under your skirt and in your pants," Chris proclaims, "It's time for me to eat of the fruited loins of our forefathers." Once he figures out how to open the door, he's on his way. When he arrives in town, he's approached by a shady character who slips him a mickey, and he wakes up to find his wallet missing. Things take a turn for the better, though, when a cub reporter from The Evening Star, May Evans (Anastasia Barzee, who also played Jane in Get a Life: Drivers License) makes Chris' sad story front-page news. The Big City opens its heart to this poor naïve hick who's lost everything, dubbing him "Walletboy," and giving him a luxury hotel suite and the key to the city. Chris quickly learns to appreciate the perks of celebrity. He even orders an unbaked pizza with no topping, sauce, or cheese, because he can. When May explains how cutthroat the pathetic rube business is, Chris gladly goes out on the town with her to keep his name in the papers. Chris' exciting new life is soon put in jeopardy, though, by a call from his parents. ~ Josh Ralske, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Chris Elliott, Bob Elliott, (more)
- 1991
This episode is told completely through flashbacks, as Chris (Chris Elliott) writes in his diary about his encounter with three construction workers, Dick (Ritch Brinkley), Ray (Mickey Jones), and Don (Pete Spellos), who do some work on his parents' kitchen. For some unexplained reason, Chris has always been obsessed with construction workers (though, of course this obsession has never been mentioned on the show before), and when they show up on his doorstep, he describes the three sloppy, unshaven gentlemen (in his diary) as "glorious mythical creatures." Chris is eager to gain entry to their inner circle, but he can't seem to break the ice. Staring at them for hours doesn't work. Neither does asking inane questions like, "When were sinks invented?" Even his ventriloquist act doesn't get a rise out of them. Dressing like them, with a toy tool belt, merely brings on their ridicule. Then one day, while Chris is napping in their work area, a "blessed event" occurs that Chris sums up "in four sweet simple words -- Dick fell on me." After Chris breaks Dick's fall, the three embrace him, and teach him how to harass female passersby, while filling his head with tall tales of "late trailer payments, one-eyed prostitutes, and...tool belt fights." But when Chris hears that his beloved construction crew is ripping off his dear, sweet papa (Bob Elliott), he finds himself in need of spiritual guidance. ~ Josh Ralske, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Chris Elliott, Bob Elliott, (more)
- 1991
Chris Peterson (Chris Elliott) buys a defective watch and ends up taking part in a dangerous undercover police sting operation in "The Counterfeit Watch Story." After watching re-runs of Sea Hunt, Chris decides it would be neat to have a watch he could wear in the shower. He races off to Transistor Hut to get a "Mr. Underwater" watch. Chris warns the store's proprietor, Vic (Duke Moosekian, who played the photographer in Get a Life: "The Prettiest Week of My Life"), that he won't be fooled by any "bait-and-switch tap dance." But when Vic tells him the watch he wants is a "piece of junk," and that the Chronosync 2000 is "the Cadillac of underwater watches," Chris changes his mind. He's a bit concerned when the watch stops ticking in the store, but Vic explains that it's what's known as a "tap watch. You just tap it now and then to get it started, and that keeps it from burning itself out by running constantly." Chris buys the Chronosync 2000, and invites his parents to view the watch's "christening" in his shower. Fred (Bob Elliott) sees the gaudy-looking, oversized watch and asks Chris, "Are you sure it's not the Dodge Dart of underwater watches?" Chris is horrified when the Chronosync 2000 falls apart after three seconds in the shower. He returns to the store to demand a refund. Vic is nowhere to be found, and the salesman is not helpful, so Chris stages an angry protest in his underpants until the cops come to take him away. The police explain that they've had the store under surveillance for selling counterfeit merchandise, and ask for Chris's help in nabbing Vic and his supplier. Chris eagerly agrees to wear a wire for the perilous sting operation. ~ Josh Ralske, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Chris Elliott, Bob Elliott, (more)
- 1991
"The One Where Chris and Larry Switch Lives" finds the intrepid hero, Chris Peterson (Chris Elliott), and his best friend, Larry Potter (Sam Robards), exploring the ancient Indian burial ground behind the mall. Their reason for going there is unclear, but once they get to the spot, Chris decides it's "the perfect place for a pretend make-out date," and proceeds to sweet talk and kiss his own hand. Larry is eager to leave and get back to what Chris thinks of as his hellish life, with his nagging wife, Sharon (Robin Riker), and their two young children. Before the two leave, Chris picks up a lovely ancient arrowhead, laughing off Larry's warnings about curses and such. "Hit me with your best mojo!" Chris taunts the gods. Chris drifts off while chattering to himself excitedly about his plans for the next day. He plans to surreptitiously place the arrowhead on his father's chair, and watch the expression on his face when he sits on it. But when Chris wakes up the next morning, he finds himself in Larry's bed, perilously close to the hated Sharon, wearing Larry's "old man pajamas, and his underwear, and something with string and elastic." Unable to convince Sharon or the kids that he's Chris and not Larry, Chris runs off to Larry's job, hoping to find him there. Instead he finds Jackie (Beth Broderick), Larry's demanding boss, who immediately sets Chris to work, accounting stuff. Soon Chris realizes that he has actually switched lives with Larry because of the Indian curse, and he is living out his worst nightmare. He has to find a way to get Larry (who is enjoying living Chris' life) and the arrowhead back to the Indian burial ground and the curse will be broken. Or will it? ~ Josh Ralske, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Chris Elliott, Bob Elliott, (more)
- 1990
In "The Prettiest Week of My Life," one of the more memorable episodes of Get a Life, Chris Peterson (Chris Elliott) pursues his unlikely dream of becoming a male model. "I won the genetic lottery," he tells his skeptical parents before running off to enroll in the Handsome Boy Modeling School. The school's proprietor, Ted Bains (Brian Doyle-Murray, who would go on to play Chris' landlord Gus in season two), snows Chris by asking him if he has "cheekbone implants." After making sure Chris has no affiliation with 60 Minutes, Bains tells him, "If the check clears, you're aces with me." Arriving for his first class, Chris gets into a tiff with Sapphire (Tuc Watkins), another modeling student, who cattily mistakes Chris for a member of the custodial staff. Intimidated by Sapphire's stage name, Chris renames himself "Sparkles." Bains puts the students through their paces (to the strains of "Pretty Woman"), and then they graduate. Chris then goes home and waits for the job offers to come in. His father (Bob Elliott), still dubious about this career choice, is won over when Bains finally calls with a modeling job for Chris. "Go get 'em, Speckles," he exhorts. Unbeknownst to Chris, he's going to be the doughy "before" picture in the ad for a muscle drink. In a powerful scene echoing Irene Cara's harrowing audition scene in Fame, Chris is reduced to tears when he's asked to pose topless. Disenchanted with the whole sordid business, Chris decides he'll go out with a bang, taking one last shot at every male model's dream -- a department store runway show. This episode inspired eccentric hip-hop genius Prince Paul and Dan "The Automator" Nakamura to form the comedic rap duo Handsome Boy Modeling School, who released So...How's Your Girl? in 1999. ~ Josh Ralske, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Chris Elliott, Bob Elliott, (more)
